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Herodotus: Writings
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The first stop on Herodotus' voyage was the city of Myriandrus, a Phoenician colony on the coast of Syria, a few miles south of the modern day city of Iskenderun. From there he traveled about 100 miles eastward to the shores of the Euphrates river, which he intended to follow downstream to Babylon. Herodotus stopped at several cities along the river, inquiring as to their history and cultures, and again has been proven accurate in his renditions of their tales.<25>
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Recently, it has been argued by the German classicist Detlev Fehling, that when Herodotus mentions his source, this is almost the best proof that he is not telling the exact truth. Unsatisfied with the real events, he decided to improve upon them, making it possible to show better the meaning of the events. There is a lot to be said for this suggestion; at least, it is almost certain that Herodotus did not go to Babylon. But maybe Fehling's criticism is a bit far-fetched. Herodotus' description of Babylon is hardly accurate indeed, but -after all- he had to write his tale many years after he had visited the place, and he never had the comfort of a map.
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Not satisfied with merely archiving the writings and oral traditions of others, Herodotus applied skeptical inquiry techniques into his interrogations of the past. His method consisted of examining written records of past events as well as supporting documents. Also, where possible, he interviewed witnesses or descendants of witnesses to events. But, he accepted none of these accounts at face value. He skeptically questioned the evidence he obtained. He examined the actual geography of an area to determine if it matched up to descriptions.
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One of the traits that separates Herodotus from the many historians both before and after him is the way in which he relates to his audience. He does not lecture them like a superior professor to inferior students, but relates to them like friends and equals. He uses humor, irony, and sarcasm in a way few since have succeeded, especially in the way he relates to the unbelievable or demonstrably false portions of his history. For instance, in the fourth book of the history,
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Herodotus was born sometime around 484 B.C. in Halicarnassus. A prominent city near Asia Minor, Halicarnassus was then ruled by the warrior queen Artemisia. She was a vassal of the Persian King Xerxes and had fought alongside him in the naval battle of Salemis.
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Herodotus admired Athenian democracy. Though he praised Persian bravery, he eulogized Athens and its triumph over autocratic Persian imperialism. He was not as accurate in his reporting of military facts, something which characterized his successor, Thucydides. Nor did Herodotus free himself completely from a belief that the gods still intervened in human affairs.
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